The ACT Attorney-General, Terry Connolly, said yesterday that he would withdraw the reference on euthanasia from the Community Law Reform Committee because the Legislative Assembly had since set up a wider inquiry.
His action follows the committee writing to him seeking wider terms of reference than it had been given. Some people on the committee thought the reference was restricted to passive euthanasia _ withdrawing or withholding medical treatment, and gave little or no scope for an inquiry on active euthanasia.
Mr Connolly said a parliamentary inquiry should take precedence over an executive inquiry. The committee was an executive advisory body. He thought it would silly to duplicate efforts and be unfortunate if the two inquiries came to different conclusions.
Mr Connolly referred the issue to the committee after Independent MLA Michael Moore announced in January that he had issued drafting instructions for a Bill.
On the introduction of his Bill, Mr Moore, however, successfully moved for the wider Assembly inquiry. Yesterday he welcomed Mr Connolly’s announcement.
Mr Moore’s Bill caused some unease in the Labor Party because it was drafted in line with Labor policy which supports euthanasia in some circumstances. However, Labor has always treated that plank of its platform passively, rather than actively.
Mr Moore said, “”In reality the reference to the Law Reform Committee was a process of avoiding the real debate. It was appropriate that a full inquiry be carried out not a limited one of type proposed by Mr Connolly.”
It was unfortunate the committee had been used as a political football, and he was pleased that was no going ahead. It would also relieve some pressure from the committee.